Sarah Robb O’Hagan isn’t happy with the search results when she googles her name. Which is surprising, considering the accolades that show up immediately, including being named to such lists as “Most Creative People in Business” (Fast Company), “Most PowerfulWomen in Sports” (Forbes), and “Women to Watch” (Ad Age). “Ijust started feeling super uncomfortable about it,” Robb O’Hagantold Convene. “I was like, ‘ Well, that’s fine, but you’re missing thebig pieces of the story where I was a train wreck and having todeal with some really, really tough experiences.’”So last year, the former leader of global brands including Virgin,Nike, and Gatorade resigned as president of fitness-chain companyEquinox Holdings to devote herself to writing and speaking abouthow those tough experiences led to her “Extreme You” philosophy.She wrote her new book, Extreme You: Step Up. Stand Out. Kick Ass.Repeat., “to flip” the rosy narrative of her career trajectory. “Yes, Iled the turnaround of a $5-billion sports-drink business when Iwas 38,” she said, “but had I not been fired twice back-to-back inmy 20s and recovered from that experience, I actually don’t think Icould have led such a di;cult corporate turnaround.”During a Main Stage presentation at PCMA EducationConference 2017 in New York City in June, Robb O’Hagan — whowas recently named CEO of fitness studio Flywheel Sports — willtalk about the countercultural revolution she hopes her ExtremeYou platform starts in the workplace, and what she’s learnedabout failure and leading extreme teams.

Some people perceive “extreme” as a
negative. How do you de;ine it?

That’s a great question. I define being
“Extreme You” as operating at the edge
of your potential. What I mean by that
is at any moment in time — when you
take on a new project or task or client, or
an event that you’re putting on — you
may be doing it for the first time, which
means you’re learning and growing. Or
you may have achieved mastery, which
means you already know what you’re
doing and you’re comfortable. If you’re
living at your extreme, you’re aware of
where you are on that spectrum, and
you’re pushing yourself to learn and grow.

For my book, I interviewed 25 peopleacross all di;erent career spectrums,from Condoleezza Rice to skier BodeMiller to tattoo artist Mister Cartoon.All manner of highly successful people.What they all had in common is self-awareness and humility. They neveract like they’re “all that.” They alwaysbelieve that they have more to learn andthey’re curious to push themselves tolearn more — I think that’s the definitionof being extreme. It definitely is not anextreme-sports addict or an extroverted,big personality. It could be Susan Cain,who’s leading the introverts revolution.She’s a great example of being extreme,because she’s found something that she’suniquely brilliant at in the world andshe’s continuously pushing the boundar-ies on what that movement can be.PCMA EDUCATION CONFERENCE PREVIEW